'She has one year to live', The Angela MacBeth story

7 April 2008

“She has one year to live.” That’s what the doctor’s diagnosis told Angela MacBeth’s family in April 2006. The 38-year-old was diagnosed with a Grade Four Glioblastoma brain tumour which was approximately 4 inches in circumference. To make matters worse it wasn’t just any normal day: it was 25 April, Angela’s 36th birthday.

Statiscally speaking this type of tumour is fatal upon diagnosis or survival is of around one year. Not only this, but Angela had a large threatening blood clot that was putting pressure on her brain. Medical staff weren’t sure if they could operate without doing her harm and this left Angela with one option. To live.

It’s April 2008 now and she’s alive, smiling and well. “It felt as if I was watching a movie,” says Angela laughing “Like when you first go into the cinema and see this story playing out about someone’s life, it was just like that.”

Starting off in Wishaw General Hospital, where a weakness was discovered in the mum-of-two’s right side, Angela was transferred to Southern General Hospital where her family were advised that surgery would not remove the entire tumour and it could result in her being permanently disabled.

“As you can imagine my family were at their wits end,” explains Angela. “They were told to expect the worst, basically. I wasn’t told for a few months because the main priority was for me to get better, so they didn’t want to give me that kind of information which would shock me.” “I believe they’ve (Angela’s family) have had quite a torrid time of it.”

They opted to go for the surgery, which was completed within six hours and afterwards Angela still had no power in her right side. She was suffering from temporary paralysis. “I didn’t know what was happening to me I thought I had a stroke,” says Angela. “After a few days I was able to move my fingers and toes, but it wasn’t until about a week had passed that my strength completely returned.”

After this the mum-of-two would receive further treatment from the Beatson Oncology Centre where she would undergo an intensive six week course of Radiotherapy, along with chemotherapy five days a week, Monday to Friday. “On the first day of treatment I felt terrible. By the time I we had travelled back home in the car I was feeling horrible, but I didn’t want to complain to my family as I knew they were having a traumatic time adjusting to the circumstances.”

After finishing the course, Angela had a month off, before returning for an even more intensive chemotherapy course at a higher dosage in September 2006. In October it was found that Angela’s white blood cells and white cells were becoming extremely low, so chemotherapy was no longer an option as it would do more harm than good. “I remember them telling us ‘go home and have quality of life, do the things you have always wanted to do and get your affairs in order,” recalls Angela. “We were all shell shocked”

The next six months would be critical for Angela and her battle for survival. In order to live, what could be her final days she knew she had to adapt her attitude to the circumstances. “My new motto became onwards and upwards,” says Angela. “There’s no point in saying why me, poor me, why did this happen to…things happen for a reason and we deal with it as best we can. “That was my attitude and still is. Every day’s a blessing, I wake and thank God I’m still here.”

Approaching her 37th birthday in April 2007, one year after she was diagnosed, Angela and her husband, David, had reached an emotional low. To combat this, they went to visit their friends in Canada for two weeks. It was here she discovered a glimmer of hope in the form of a rare fruit juice. “We were at our wits end and we were looking for hope that I would live longer than one year. When we went to Canada, our friends told us about Xango Juice and how it has worked for millions of people worldwide,” she says. Xango Juice is made using the rind of Mangosteen trees (Garcinina mangostana), tropical evergreen trees from the Sundas Islands and the Moluccas. “I took a bottle a day for 30 days and I have continued to take it ever since.” “I have been for regular CAT scans which all came back showing that there was no growth in the tumour and no activity in the cancer cells,” explains Angela. “I truly believe this is because the Mangosteen Juice aided me in my recovery.”

Although there is a link between Angela’s recovery and the special fruit juice, no one can deny that her amazing spirit is a huge factor in why she’s here today. “I used to go from day to day not planning anything, knowing that I only have one year to live” says Angela. “I was just living from day to day and day to day.” “Then something just happened. It was if something just clicked inside me and I realised that I’m here, alive and that I have to make the most of this no matter how long I’ve got to go.”

For more information on Xango juice you can visit Angela's website.

Mangosteen, Garcinia mangostana L. is a tree, which is fairly widespread in Thai, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The fruit hull of mangosteen is used as a traditional medicine in Southeast Asia for anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrhoea, antiulcer and antiseptic purposes.

Commento Personale: Non sò quanto realmente questo succo possa aver aiutato Angela a vincere la sua battaglia contro il Glioblastoma. Nessuno può dirlo con certezza. Ad ogni modo il succo non costa più di 20 euro alla bottiglia (una settantina di euro al mese per il ciclo completo) e potrebbe valere la pena tentare di seguire questa strada. Anche perché, nello specifico, in letteratura scientifica si trovano quattro studi legati ai gliomi dove ha dimostrato, sui topolini, di inibire alcuni pathway anti-infiammatori importanti come PGE2, NFKB e COX.

Source http://www.hamiltonadvertiser.co.uk